Duquan Wells, left, was sentenced to five years in prison for selling two automatic rifles and a revolver to an undercover State Police detective. His co-defendant, Andre Doss, has also pleaded guilty to weapons charges for the same sales and will be sentenced next month.Courtsey of Union County Prosecutor's Office

ELIZABETH — A Linden man who pleaded guilty to selling two assault rifles and a revolver was sentenced today to five years in prison.
Superior Court Judge Stuart Peim in Elizabeth ordered Duquan "Duke" Wells, 31, to serve at least three years before becoming eligible for parole, Attorney Jeffrey Chiesa said in a statement.

Authorities said Wells and a co-defendant, Andre "Dre" Doss, also 31 and from Linden, sold an ITM Arms semi-automatic rifle and a Tula Arsenal fully automatic rifle, along with a .22 caliber revolver, to an undercover State Police detective in July and August 2011.

Wells and Doss were also accused of possession of methylenedioxypyrovalerone, or MDPV, a designer drug commonly called bath salts, Chiesa said.

Last December, Wells pleaded guilty to the weapons charges and admitted he delivered the firearms after Doss arranged the sales.

“Firearms of the type sold by this man are terribly efficient at inflicting death and mayhem,” Chiesa said. “Through investigations such as this one and our gun buyback programs, we have taken thousands of guns off the street, including numerous assault weapons,” he said.

On mobile or desktop:

And check out our redesigned mobile site by visiting NJ.com from any mobile browser.

Doss pleaded guilty Jan. 3 to weapons and drugs charges.

In additional selling to the undercover detective, he admitted that in July 2011, he sold a Cobray MAC-11 9 mm assault handgun to an informant working with the State Police. In exchange for the guilty plea, a prosecutor will recommend Doss receive a 10-year prison term when he is sentenced next month, Chiesa said.

In 2009, Doss was shot by police when officers raided a Roselle business where they suspected Doss was selling drugs. A grand jury later determined the officer fired accidentally.